Dominican Piano-Lesson Arrangements: Scheduling and Payment Phrases Every Expat Should Know
Un preludio caribeño: My first lesson mix-up Back in 2014, I thought my Spanish was tight enough to handle anything Santo Domingo could throw at me. I’d been invited to accompany a budding jazz singer on the piano and figured a couple of refresher lessons would limber up my fingers. I rang up don Rafael, […]
From Bargains to Battles: Navigating Online Marketplace Disputes in Colombia—Seller Chat Spanish for Expats
The Day My Vintage Guayabera Became an International Incident The saga began on a humid Tuesday in Medellín, the kind of afternoon when the mountains hide behind a curtain of low clouds and the wi-fi decides to imitate molasses. I had just splurged on a vintage guayabera through a Colombian classifieds app that resembles Craigslist, […]
Signing Up for the Dominican “Liga de Softbol”: A Cross-Caribbean Spanish Workout
Primera mirada: el guante que me abrió el barrio I still remember lugging my cracked Wilson glove through the tropical heat of Santo Domingo Norte one Saturday morning, determined to sign up for the local Liga de Softbol. I had survived on basic survival Spanish for years, but the moment I heard a coach bark, […]
How a Barranquilla Medical Referral Became My Secret Weapon for Level-Up Spanish
La primera sala de espera: my wake-up call Ten years of life under the Caribbean sun of Santo Domingo can make you cocky about your Spanish. I thought I had every hospital term nailed—until my buddy Tomás dislocated his shoulder during Carnaval de Barranquilla. One moment he was trying the garabato; the next he was […]
Colombian Meditation Retreats: Dietary Restrictions and Session Terms through the Eyes of a Dominican-Based Expat
By James, a 33-year-old Brit who traded London drizzle for ten years of Caribbean sunshine and frequent Colombian wanderlust. From Mangú to Mantras: My First Silent Retreat in the Coffee Axis It started on a humid Friday in Santiago de los Caballeros, where the smell of mangú still lingered on my T-shirt as I stuffed […]
Sun, Showers, and Subjunctive: Booking a Colombian Eco-Lodge with the Right Spanish Vocabulary
I still remember the night I landed in Leticia, that sleepy Amazonian town where Colombia, Brazil, and Peru shake hands over the river. The plane’s wheels screeched, the jungle sang louder than the jet engines, and my phone promptly lost signal. I was carrying two things that suddenly felt heavier than my backpack: a reservation […]
Dominican Mountain-Bike Rentals: Trail Difficulty & Gear Vocabulary for Curious Expats
From City Heat to Mountain Breeze: My First Ride in Jarabacoa I still remember the exact moment the rental guy in Jarabacoa tossed me a beat-up helmet and said, “Ponte esto, que el lodo hoy está sabroso.” “Put this on, the mud is delicious today.” The adjective sabroso for mud made me grin; ten years […]
Dominican Roof-Repair Contracts: Materials (“Zinc,” “Teja”) in Spanish
When the Caribbean Rain Wakes You Up Three years ago a 3 a.m. downpour rattled the old zinc sheets over my Santiago apartment so fiercely that the drips sounded like conga drums on the floor. I rushed outside in flip-flops, flashlight between my teeth, and watched water funnel from a fist-sized hole opened by rust. […]
Dominican Passport Stamp Extensions: Navigating the Airport Counter Like a Local
By James, the wandering Brit who swapped Manchester drizzle for ten years of Dominican sunshine, infinite bachata playlists, and frequent escapes to Colombian mountains. Landing at Las Américas: The Morning My Visa Almost Expired I still remember the sticky August dawn when I shuffled off a red-eye from Medellín, hair smelling of arepa smoke and […]
Colombian Photography Tours: Permit Questions, Night-Shot Tips, and the Spanish Vocabulary You Didn’t Know You Needed
I still remember the first time my tripod clicked open on the cobblestones of Cartagena’s Plaza de los Coches. The golden hour had just dissolved into that indigo wash photographers fantasize about, and I was aiming for a silky capture of the Cathedral’s bell tower. Out of nowhere, a friendly but stern officer tapped my […]